Networked vendor for workplace or controlled environment

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the invention described herein provide an apparatus and method for networked vending. According to embodiments described herein, a vending machine is provided that may be installed and managed by the venue in which it is installed. Consumers may purchase vending products from the vending machine using cashless accounts managed by an external device in communication with the vendor. The venue may manage the inventory for the vending machine by placing orders for single product inserts to be loaded in the vending machine.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.13/153,107, filed Jun. 3, 2011, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/351,611, filed on Jun. 4, 2010. Both ofthese prior filed applications are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to networked vending machines. In particular, theinvention relates to vending machines that may be operated in acontrolled, networked environment wherein consumer accounts, purchases,and refills of the vendor may be managed at the venue via a network.

BACKGROUND

Vending machines have been used to sell perishable and non-perishablefood and beverage items, as well as various other sundries, for manyyears. Typically, the vendor is placed at a point of sale location by adistributor or bottler and the inventory for the vendor is managed bythe distributor or bottler according to a regular schedule. When aconsumer makes a purchase from such a vending machine, the consumertypically deposits a cash value for the good(s) being purchased at thetime of purchase.

However, in the typical management scenario described above, the pointof sale location, such as an office, a school, or a store, oftentimeshas no input into the types and quantities of product that are placed inthe machine. Furthermore, because the distributor or bottler has no wayto monitor the inventory of the vendor, the manufacturer or bottler muststock the vendor according to regularly scheduled visits, regardless ofwhether a restocking is necessary.

There is a need in the art for a managed vending machine, wherein theinventory of the vendor may be managed at the point of sale location andtailored to the consumer base. Further, there is a need in the art for avending machine that supports a non-cash vending option.

SUMMARY

The following presents a general summary of some aspects of theinvention. The summary is intended to provide a general overview and isnot intended to apprise of the full scope of the invention.

Aspects of the invention described herein relate to vending machinesthat may be operated in a networked environment. According to at leastone embodiment, a vending machine/vendor may be provided by adistributer, manufacturer or bottler, wherein vending products withinthe vending machine may be accessed and purchased by consumers usingcashless, networked accounts.

Consumer accounts for the vendor may be managed by an external managingdevice (and associated software), in communication with a vendorcomputing device. Consumers may access personal accounts via an onlinenetwork, e.g. an intranet, to add credit to a personal account. Inalternative embodiments, the management software may deduct a balancefrom a payroll or student account, or use any other suitable form ofpayment deduction. Once a personal account is established, a consumermay access and purchase products from the networked vendor. The consumermay gain access to the vendor using an RFID tag, a keypad, or othersuitable means known to those of skill in the art.

The inventory for the vendor may be contained in single product insertsthat may be loaded and unloaded by the managing venue, as needed. Onceloaded, the vendor may recognize the type and quantity of vendingproduct in each insert by reading identification data displayed on theinsert(s), and use such identification data when making inventorydeterminations. The vendor may also recognize, by use of weight sensorsdistributed in the vendor, a weight for each insert, and may use theweight data to determine the type of vending product that has beenpurchased by a consumer.

A more detailed summary of the invention and exemplary embodiments canbe found in the detailed description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example in the followingfigures and is not limited by the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary networked vending machine according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts an exploded view of the interior of the exemplarynetworked vending machine of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 depicts a view of certain interior components according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts a rear view of a vending insert according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary network environment suitable for use andinterconnection of exemplary components described herein, according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary computing system, suitable for performingaspects of the present invention;

FIG. 7 depicts use of an exemplary ID card and exemplary sensor forvendor access, according to an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary vendor output screen after a consumerpurchase, with keypad, according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various example embodiments of theinvention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form apart hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration variousexample devices, systems, and environments in which aspects of theinvention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other specificarrangements of parts, example devices, systems, and environments may beutilized and structural and functional modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

Aspects of the invention described herein provide a networked vendingmachine for use in an office or other controlled environment, such as aschool. FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary networked vendor 100 according to anembodiment of the present invention. Vendor 100 comprises externalcabinet 102 that encloses and defines an interior area (as labeled 200in FIG. 2). Cabinet 102 may be made from a plurality of pieces (such asside panels, a rear panel, a front panel, a top panel or a bottom panel)or may be structured by any method known in the art without departingfrom the invention. Vending products 110, stored within vendor 100, maybe accessed by a hinged door 104 with handle 105. Door 104 may have aglass or plastic viewing front surface 106 for viewing vending products110 contained within vendor 100. According to aspects of the invention,vendor 100 may have a plurality of racks or shelves (as labeled 202 inFIG. 2) for holding a plurality of vending inserts 112. Vending inserts112 may be fashioned to hold vending products 110 and may be shaped in avariety of manners to conform to the size and shape of the cabinetinterior. For example, vendor cabinet 102 may be sized smaller for usein an environment with a limited number of consumers, such as a smalloffice, or larger for use in an environment with many consumers, such asa university campus. Vending inserts 112 may be sized smaller for asmall vendor cabinet and larger for a large cabinet. Cabinet 102 mayalso include other features such as drawer 108 with logo area 109.

Vendor 100 may have a consumer input device 114 and display 116 disposedon the exterior of cabinet 102. Input device 114 and display 116 mayalso be disposed on the vending door 106 or other area as appropriate,and as contemplated by one of skill in the art. Consumer input device114 may comprise a sensor, configured to read an electronic inputsignal, such as from an RFID tag. Consumer input device may alsocomprise a keypad, wherein a consumer may key in an ID code or otheridentifier to identify a consumer's account and gain access to thevending machine 100. Exemplary input device 114 and display 116 arecoupled to a vending computing device (as labeled 212 in FIG. 2, anddescribed further below) comprising a processor, for further operationof the device.

As described, FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a vendingmachine 100 according to aspects described herein. Those skilled in theart will recognize that vendor 100, and specifically, cabinet 102, maybe formed according to techniques known in the art without departingfrom the present invention. Furthermore, it should be understood thatmany of the components of vendor 100 identified in FIG. 1 may be variedin size, shape and location without departing from the techniquesdescribed herein.

FIG. 2 depicts an exploded view of certain components of the interior200 of the exemplary networked vending machine 100 of FIG. 1, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. As seen in FIG. 2, vendinginsert 112 (note that reference numbers are carried over in each Figure)rests on a shelf or rack, 204. FIG. 2 depicts three racks 202, 204, 206,however, in practice, a vendor 100 may have more or fewer racksdepending on the size of the vendor cabinet 102. Racks 202, 204, 206 aredepicted as solid surfaces in FIG. 2, however the racks or shelves maybe embodied in a variety of ways suitable for holding inserts 112. Aslabeled on exemplary rack 204, each of racks 202, 204, 206 include aplurality of weight sensors 208, at least one for each insert 112.Weight sensors 208 may be configured to determine an exact weight of theinsert 112 (with vending products 110 included) and to communicate theweight data to a vending computing device 212. The racks 202, 204 and206 may further include sensors 210, configured to read identificationdata contained on insert 112 and to communicate the identification datato vendor computing device 212. The weight sensors 208 may include anydevice suitable for the purpose of determining an accurate weightmeasurement and communicating the measurement to computing device 212.Similarly, sensors 210 may include any device suitable for the purposesof reading electronic data (such as data on a conductive ink label).Persons of ordinary skill will readily appreciate additional devicesthat may be used for the purpose of determining the weight of insert(s)112, or for reading electronic data, as described above, and forcommunicating such data electronically to computing device 212. Thoseskilled in the art will also recognize that the components describedherein may be arranged in a variety of manners, for example, sensors 210may be located on any interior surface of cabinet 102.

FIG. 3 depicts a front view of a rack (or shelf) 202 with insert 112according to an exemplary embodiment described herein. Insert 112 mayhave a front end 302, wherein the vending product 110 may be viewedthrough the viewing area 106 of the vending machine 100, and may alsohave a rear end 304. As previously described, rack 202 may includeweight sensors 208 for determining a weight of insert 112 and forcommunicating a determined weight to computing device 212. Rack 202 mayalso include sensors 210. FIG. 4 depicts a back view of an exemplaryinsert 112 that may be used for practicing the invention describedherein. As can be seen in FIG. 4, rear end 304 of insert 112 maycomprise electronic data 402 for communicating identification data aboutthe insert 112 and the specific vending product 110 contained therein.According to one embodiment of the invention, the electronic data 402may be contained on a conductive ink label that is configured to be readby electronic data sensors 210 and communicated to computing device 212.The data may contain information such as the type of vending product inthe insert, the amount of vending product in the insert, the stockweight of the insert, a relevant date of the insert and other pertinentinformation that may be used by vending machine 100 as described below.The invention is not confined to the methods and systems forcommunicating electronic data as described, and it is contemplated thatother suitable methods of communicating such data that are known in theart may be employed with successful results, such as the use of a barcode and bar code reader.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary network environment suitable for use inimplementing aspects described herein and in interconnection ofexemplary components described herein. As depicted, vending machine 100is connected to network 502 via the internal or external computingdevice 212, further described below with respect to exemplary networkdevice 600. Network 502 may be implemented according to any suitablenetworking environment known in the art such as a wired or wirelessenvironment. In an exemplary embodiment, network 502 may be an Ethernetnetwork. Managing device 503 may also be coupled to network 502 andconfigured to communicate with computing device 212 of vendor 100.Managing device 503 may be configured to manage consumer accounts,vending machine inventory, as well as to process orders. Network 502 mayalso be connected to a wide area network (WAN) 505, such as the publicInternet or a private intranet via network access device 504. Networkaccess device 504 may be any suitable access device for connecting overa broadband or wireless network such as a router, a wireless router, amodem or other suitable means. According to techniques described herein,managing device 503 may be further configured to communicate via WAN 505with a manufacturer or bottling distributor 506, to order inventory forvendor 100.

Aspects of the invention, including computing device 212 and managingdevice 503 may be implemented with a variety of conventional networkedcomputer devices such as the network device 600 shown in FIG. 6. Device600 includes at least network interface ports 602 and 604 for receivingand sending data traffic, a central processor 606, a system memory 608,and a system bus 610 that couples various system components includingports 602 and 604, central processor 606 and system memory 608. Systembus 610 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memorybus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any ofa variety of bus architectures. The structure of system memory 608 iswell known to those skilled in the art and may include a basicinput/output system (BIOS) stored in a read only memory (ROM) and one ormore program modules such as operating systems, application programs andprogram data stored in random access memory (RAM). Interfaces 602 and604 may be any type of network interface well known to those skilled inthe art. Furthermore, device 600 may include drives for interfacing withother types of computer readable media.

A process of administering and maintaining a networked vending machine,such as vendor 100, according to aspects of the invention, may beimplemented as follows. A venue may receive a vending machine 100 from alocal merchandiser or bottler. The venue, such as a workplace, a schoolor a store, may receive, along with vendor 100, associated software foruse by a managing device 503. A vendor manager, such as an officemanager, may use the associated software for managing one or moreconsumer accounts, for managing inventory for the vendor 100, and forplacing orders via a network 505 to a local bottler or distributer 506.

The software for use by managing device 503 may be written to anysuitable form of computer readable medium such as to system memory (RAM)608, to an external memory drive, floppy disk, CD, thumb drive, etc. Avendor manager may use such associated software for the establishment ofconsumer accounts and for management of the accounts, so that consumersmay purchase vending products 110 from the vending machine 100.According to some embodiments, the consumer may have access to themanagement software to add value to an associated account. Inalternative embodiments, a vendor manager may take full ownership of theaccounts and simply deduct a balance due from a consumer's paycheck orschool account.

FIG. 7 depicts use of an exemplary ID card 704 and exemplary sensor 114for reading ID card 704. According to techniques described herein, aconsumer 702 may access vendor 100 using an ID card 704 that isassociated with an account for consumer 702. The ID card 704 maycomprise a well-known RFID tag, or other known technique fortransferring electronic information by use of a sensor detecting theelectronic information when in close proximity. Alternative embodimentsmay include a keypad on the vendor, coupled to a computing device 212within the vendor, wherein a consumer 702 may enter account informationdirectly into a keypad.

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary display 116 for vendor 100, including outputscreen 802 and keypad 812. As depicted in FIG. 8, the output screen 802may display information about a consumer purchase such as the cost andtypes of vending products that are purchased 804 (“$1.25 Pepsi” and“$1.25 Mountain Dew”) an amount billed to the account 806 (“$2.50Billed”), an account number 808 (“12345”), and a consumer nameassociated with the account 810 (“Joe Smith”). It is contemplated thatthe display items may include all of the items exemplified in FIG. 8 oronly some of the items. In addition, display screen 802 may be used fordisplay of other information, such as messages noting that vendor 100 is“Out of Order” or “Sold Out.” Keypad 812 may be used as an alternativeconsumer input device. For instance, a consumer may key in an accountnumber on keypad 812 to gain access to vendor 100 and purchase vendingproduct(s) 110. As depicted in FIG. 2, display 116 is connected tocomputing device 212.

According to aspects of the invention, a consumer may purchase one ormore vending products 110 from vendor 100 by unlocking the door with adetected and valid ID card 704, or with a valid account code enteredinto a keypad 812 on display 116. After consumer input device 114 orreads ID card 704, keypad 812 registers consumer account informationkeyed in, and communicates the associated account information to thevending computer device 212, or an external managing device 503, theconsumer 702 may remove a desired vending product 110 from vendor 100.After removal of a purchased vending product 110, weight sensors 208 maydetermine and send weight data to the computing device 212 and/ormanaging device 503, to determine the vending product(s) removed by theconsumer 702. Such determination may be made by computing device 212 byupdating one or more inventory reports on computing device 212. Forexample, a specific insert 112 may have weight “X” before a consumerpurchase, and weight “X minus Y” after a consumer purchase. With datacomprising the exact change in weight taken from before the consumerpurchase and after the consumer purchase, the computing device maydetermine the exact vending product 110 removed by consumer 702, basedon inventory information recorded by computing device 212 fromidentification data 402 previously recorded.

It is contemplated that computing device 212 of vendor 100 maycommunicate such purchase data to the manager device 503 at a regularlyscheduled time such that a vendor manager may deduct an appropriateamount for the purchased vending product 110 from a consumer's account.The communication of such data also allows the vendor manager to keeptrack of the vending product inventory in vendor 100 and make requestfor additional products.

According to aspects described herein, the venue may restock vendingmachine 100 by communicating with local bottler, distributer ormanufacturer (506), or other entity that supplied the vendor 100.According to embodiments described herein, a vendor manager may choose aproduct mix for vendor 100 by selecting the insert(s) 112, filled with aparticular vending product 110. The vendor manager may order additionalinserts 112 from local bottler or distributor 506 via network 505. It isalso contemplated that the vendor manager may order inserts 112 viafacsimile order, telephone, or any other suitable means. The vendormanager, when ordering, may select a product mix using the specificidentification data 402 contained on the insert 112, which may identifythe vending product mix in a particular insert 112. The venue mayreceive the ordered vending product 110 pre-packed in the insert(s) 112for insertion directly into vendor 100. Once inserted, vendor 100 mayregister the one or more new insert(s) 112 by using sensors 210 to readidentification data 402 on insert(s) 112 and communicate such data tocomputing device 212.

While the invention has been described with respect to specific examplesand to presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variations ofthe above described systems and methods that may fall within the spiritand scope of the invention. For example, those skilled in the art willrecognize that the foregoing techniques may be implemented on a varietyof bus-based networking systems and with a variety of transmissionmedia. Networks based on wire, fiber optic cable, wireless or othertransmission media may utilize the present invention. It should befurther noted that certain aspects of the present invention have beendescribed herein, but the invention is not limited to the embodimentsdescribed. The following claims demonstrate the breadth of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vending machine for use in a networkedenvironment, comprising: a frame having an exterior surface, wherein theframe defines an interior area; at least one rack in the interior area,configured to hold at least one insert for holding a plurality ofvending products, wherein the at least one insert displays readableidentification data; at least one insert sensor, configured to read thereadable identification data; at least one weight sensor engaged withthe rack, configured to determine weight data for the at least oneinsert; a consumer input device, configured to receive consumerinformation data; and a processor, coupled to the at least one insertsensor, the at least one weight sensor, the consumer input device, and anetwork connection, and configured to: receive vending data, wherein thevending data may comprise at least one selected from the group of: thereadable identification data from the at least one insert sensor, theweight data from the at least one weight sensor, and the consumerinformation data from the consumer input device; and transmit thevending data over the network connection.
 2. The vending machine ofclaim 1, wherein the readable identification data is contained on aconductive ink label adhered to the insert, and wherein the at least oneinsert sensor is configured to read the readable identification data onthe conductive ink label.
 3. The vending machine of claim 2, wherein thereadable identification data comprises information about the pluralityof vending products in the insert.
 4. The vending machine of claim 3,wherein the information about the plurality of vending products in theinsert consists of a type of product and a number of the product.
 5. Thevending machine of claim 1, wherein the weight data consists of a firstweight of the insert determined before a vending product is removed, anda second weight of the insert determined after the vending product isremoved.
 6. The vending machine of claim 1, wherein the consumer inputdevice is a sensor, and wherein the sensor is configured to receive theconsumer information data from a consumer RFID tag.
 7. The vendingmachine of claim 1, wherein the consumer input device is a keypad, andwherein a consumer enters the consumer information data on the keypad.8. The vending machine of claim 1, wherein the consumer information datacomprises a consumer account status and a consumer account balance. 9.The vending machine of claim 1, wherein the vending machine furthercomprises a display screen for displaying at least one selected from thegroup of: a consumer account status; a consumer account balance; or adescription of a vended product.
 10. A method of vending a product froma networked vending machine, the vending machine comprising at least oneinsert containing a plurality of vending products, the methodcomprising: (a) receiving, at a consumer input device, consumerinformation data; (b) transmitting over a network by a processor incommunication with the consumer input device, the consumer informationdata; (c) determining, by a weight sensor in communication with theprocessor, a first weight of the at least one insert, before a vendingproduct is removed; (d) determining, by the weight sensor incommunication with the processor, a second weight of the at least oneinsert after a vending product is removed; (e) receiving, at theprocessor, the first weight and the second weight; and (f) transmittingover the network by the processor, the first weight and the secondweight.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: (g) receivingvia the network at the processor, a consumer account balance; and (h)displaying, at a display in communication with the processor, theconsumer account balance.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein theconsumer input device is a sensor configured to read an RFID tag, andwherein the consumer information data comprises at least one of thefollowing: a consumer account status or a consumer account balance. 13.A system for managing a networked vending machine, the systemcomprising: a vending machine, wherein the vending machine comprises: atleast one rack in an interior area, configured to hold at least oneinsert for holding a plurality of vending products; at least one insertsensor, configured to read identification data on the at least oneinsert; at least one weight sensor engaged with the rack, configured todetermine weight data for the at least one insert; a consumer inputdevice, configured to receive consumer information data; and aprocessor, coupled to the at least one insert sensor, the at least oneweight sensor, the consumer input device, and a network connection, andconfigured to receive and transmit data over the network; and a memory,wherein the memory contains computer-executable instructions formanaging at least one consumer account and inventory for the vendingmachine.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the identification data iscontained on a conductive ink label adhered to the insert, and whereinthe at least one insert sensor is configured to read the identificationdata on the conductive ink label.
 15. The system of claim 13, whereinthe identification data comprises information about the plurality ofvending products in the insert.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein theinformation about the plurality of vending products in the insertconsists of a type of product and a number of the product.
 17. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the weight data consists of a first weightof the insert determined before a vending product is removed, and asecond weight of the insert determined after the vending product isremoved.
 18. The system of claim 13, wherein the consumer input deviceis a sensor, and wherein the sensor is configured to receive theconsumer information data from a consumer RFID tag.
 19. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the consumer information data comprises a consumeraccount status and a consumer account balance.
 20. The system of claim13, wherein the vending machine further comprises a display screen fordisplaying any of the following: a consumer account status; a consumeraccount balance; or a description of a vended product.